Description of the attraction
The modestly decorated mausoleum of Bibi Khanum is located opposite the mosque of the same name. Earlier, on the site of the mausoleum, there was a madrasah founded by the Chingizid princess Sarai-mulk khanum, Timur's beloved and main wife, who was called Bibi Khanum, which means "Lady Grandmother". The madrasah was built at the end of the XIV century. Scientist A. Vamberi notes that about a thousand students were educated in the madrasah. The mausoleum was one of the outbuildings of the madrasah, which in the following centuries was abandoned and dismantled.
In the design of the mausoleum, a luxurious dome stands out, which rests on a drum decorated with blue tiles. Inside the walls of the tomb are decorated with floral patterns. The underground crypt is smaller. It is lined with large gray stone slabs. There are several stone sarcophagi. They were found after the earthquake of 1875, when people were restoring the dome of the mausoleum. Then there were rumors that one of the burials belonged to Bibi Khanum. Archaeological research carried out in 1941 seemed to confirm these assumptions, and the mausoleum was named after Bibi Khanum. Further study of the remains forced scientists to talk about who was buried in the tomb with greater caution. The mummy of a middle-aged woman with black curly hair was found in the tomb. It can be the body of any Timurid princess.
The Bibi Khanum mausoleum was renovated in the 21st century. The funds for the repairs were allocated by the government of Uzbekistan. This is one of the most famous mausoleums in Samarkand.
